I just want to say one more thing about how careful w should be that we are not false prophets. We should, as I said, be very careful that we do not let people believe that our opinions and priorities and treatments within a situation are those of God, but I think the same must be said about what we assert to be Biblical truths.
In human sexuality, we were asked to write a paper about homosexuality which, in part, was to cover what the Bible taught about it. Most of us in the class, myself included, were sure that it would be very quick, easy, and clear to find the places that the Bible condemned homosexual behavior. I wrote about this 2 or 3 postings ago, so you can read the rest of this issue there, but the long and short of it was that it was actually very difficult to find places where the Bible said that it was wrong. The passage in Leviticus where it is listed among the forbidden behaviors in the law also lists having sex with your wife on her period - clearly we don't think that's a horrible sin. And in Paul's New Testament lists of wrong behaviors, many believe that the word for homosexuality there is actually making reference to temple prostitution between the priests and young temple boys.
In talking with people, the argument that I hear far and away the most often is that God set up the family a very specific way: a mother and a father, a husband and a wife. He gave us a very clear example of how a family should be, the inference being that anything outside of that original model is not right.
I think this argument from silence is a very dangerous one. Hear me, I do think that a homosexual lifestyle is not God's best or God's plan, but I think that using silence on the issue within the original family structures of Genesis 1 as a condemnation is not only weak but dangerous. Is adoption then similarly wrong? Because the original family structure doesn't include that either.
My belabored point again is this - we need to be very careful when we tell people what God and His Word do and do not prioritize. God does not, in Scripture at least, make a big, overstated, clear deal about homosexuality. You know what He does do that about? False prophesy and leading His children wrongly through your teaching.
I also think, just for ourselves, we need to look at our mindsets and figure out if our priorities mirror His. Do we put our thought and attention and passion and words in the same places that God does? I think we need to look at Scripture and really figure out what GOD is making a big deal about and then make a big deal about that too. I think it's all too often the opposite - we decide what we care about and what is a big deal, and then we go find sections of Scripture to back ourselves up, and then what's worse, we tell people that they can learn the truths of God through us.
We just need to be careful with that.
